Confusion surrounds USdollars 6m tourism pitch

<p>TAIPEI: The Tourism Bureau is inviting agencies to pitch for its </p><p>NTdollars 200 million (about USdollars 6 million) account, bringing to </p><p>an end a decade of inactivity caused by insufficient funds. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But many agencies are giving it the cold shoulder because they only </p><p>learned about the pitch two weeks before the June 8 deadline. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The problem was that the bureau didn't go down the normal route of </p><p>requesting specific agencies to make creative and strategic </p><p>recommendations. Instead, it simply posted a message on an official web </p><p>site, allowing any interested parties to put forward proposals. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The bureau, however, defended its methods. "Our request for proposals is </p><p>according to government regulations," said C.H. Tuo, director of the </p><p>international division, Tourism Bureau. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The agencies are not only upset over not being notified directly, they </p><p>are also dissatisfied with the fact that they must make nearly completed </p><p>proposals for a multi-market campaign in just a few weeks. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>An account manager of one of Taipei's top 10 agencies said: "They want a </p><p>complete corporate identity strategy, a Taiwan song in three languages - </p><p>Mandarin, English and Japanese - and storyboards for 15 to 30 minute </p><p>videos. That's just the creative." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>But not everyone was caught off guard by the bureau's invitation. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Roughly half of Taiwan's top-10 agencies are believed to be pitching, </p><p>including Ogilvy & Mather, McCann-Erickson, Saatchi & Saatchi, DY&R and </p><p>Leo Burnett. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Some agencies, like Saatchis, have been doing background research on top </p><p>of general preparation for a pitch following news reports some months </p><p>ago that the Government was going to increase its tourism promotion </p><p>budget to try to turn Taiwan into an international tourist </p><p>destination. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Said Neil Hardwick, CEO of Saatchis Taiwan: "When you read in the </p><p>newspaper that the government is allocating NTdollars 200 million for </p><p>the promotion of tourism, it follow that there might be a pitch." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The pitch coincides with the launch of a Government Information Office </p><p>image campaign to spruce up the island's international with the slogan, </p><p>"Great People from a Small Island". </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The series of television and print ads was developed by Everbeauty - the </p><p>advertising arm of the Evergreen Group, which has wide-ranging business </p><p>interests from an airline to a hotel chain. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>